Diverge
by Murphy8370
Summary: Two elvish girls from the same village, twined by fate but separated by betrayal.
1. Chapter 1

I have lived among the elves of Mirkwood for most of my life, although I cannot claim to be one of them, I instead come from a small village on the outskirts of the city where I was raised until I reached my majority. For the last couple hundred years I have been the faithful and steadfast guard and servant to the Lady Maera, once friends in our younger years now we maintain a different relationship for the sake of our families. It is a lonely job, with only the lady to confide in, but one that requires absolute secrecy meaning that although I know the names and faces of the elves that move around me they do not have the same luxury and I find I am often ignored. Lady Maera, I am sure, feels the same as I, alone in a palace teeming with people, often trapped inside her room due to the nature of her occupation and told with no exception that she may never show her face unless deemed appropriate by the King himself. Her and myself were not always as such, once we roamed freely, loved by family and friend, surrounded by peace and tranquility. As children we would often sneak out of our homes and lay in the cool grass of a meadow near our home and watch the stars in the sky, their light a beacon of beauty in the thick blanket of night. As young women we would titter behind our hands at the village boys we found attractive, and had jobs doing chores within the village, her making clothes and tapestries while I helped my father in the forge as he had no boys to teach the trade. I spent many a day watching him make items such as swords and jewelry, vases and small items to sell to merchants who came from Laketown bearing food and fabrics. In my youth I had hoped one day to go to Laketown, to finally see someone not of my own race, to hear the language of the humans and to immerse myself in a culture that was not my own.

These dreams, although still alive in my mind, seem to be farther and farther away with each passing year I stay within the palace, but I know that I cannot leave Maera here alone. I swore a pledge to her that day that no matter where we should go, or what paths our lives may lead that I wouldn't leave her alone. I keep that promise now, even with the bitter memory of how our lives changed the day the soldiers came to our village.I can picture the day still clearly in my mind although many years have passed.

_The day had dawned bright and clear as I rose from the coverlets of my soft bed, I stretched and peered through the window of my room seeing the sun rise on the east horizon with bright fingers of blue and orange. A smile graced my young face as I left the warmth of my bed and walked to a wardrobe my grandfather had made for my mother on her majority, within were a few serviceable dresses I had been given by my mother, but today I searched for one specific dress. Maera had made a beautifully made gown of soft blue embroidered carefully with a silvery thread that swirled along the neckline and sleeves. It was a light dress made with fabrics delivered from Laketown that she had purchased specifically for me and thread she had saved while she learned the delicate art of embroidery. I reveled in his simple beauty and pressed it against my body, twirling about the room in a nightgown before settling before a slightly cloudy looking glass. My raven hair had become a tangled mess in my sleep, the locks twisting around my shoulders and the crown of my head, I shook my head at the image before me and lifted a wooden bristled brush and began to pull the tangles into some semblance of straightness. Looking again I noticed that my hair was beginning to curl gently at the edges, framing my face in what I considered a charming way, I pulled strands apart and began to make simple braids that I clipped to the back of my head in a kind of crown, the rest of the hair falling down my back to my waist. I stood from the dressing table and picked the dress up once more before laying on my unmade bed, I stripped the gown from my body which my mother swore would bloom in my majority but was still just as slender as when I was a child. I stroked my hands slowly down from my small chest where buds of breasts were beginning to develop down over a flat and slightly muscled stomach to my narrow hips. I allowed my hands to settle there before looking down at my thighs and legs which were strong from hours of carrying heavy buckets filled to the brim with cold water for the forge. I felt so boyish. too slender and with not enough features to distinguish myself, not Maera who was voluptuous with wide hips, heavy breasts and a face that shone brightly with her beatific smiles. Standing next to each other people would often favor looking upon her than myself, she was bright with strands some swore were spun with starlight while I was dark with features that were uninspiring. I felt no jealousy in my heart though, we were friends and I wished nothing more than for her to be happy and healthy with a bountiful hearth and a solid man by her side. I knew she wished the same of me. _

"_Lilith, it is time to rise, dear." I heard my mother's voice through the door._

"_I'm already awake, mother. I'll be down in a moment." _

"_Alright, Maera is already here whenever you're ready." _

_I heard the soft patter of her returning down the stairs and picked up the dress once more, the fabric feeling so soft within my callousing hands. I dressed in record time, drawing the dress over my head and settling it over my figure, before sliding slippers onto my feet and leaving my room with a flourish. I almost stampeded down the stairs to see my parents and my friend standing there with matching smiles as I twirled around in a circle watching the hem rise up to my knees then settle back down to my ankles. _

"_Oh I just knew it would be beautiful on you!" _

"_Of course it would, it was made by the most talented seamstress in all the village!" I replied, a smile on my face. _

"_My, my. You'll turn the heads of all the village boys if you're not careful." My father winked at me. _

"_I'll be back before nightfall." I said to my parents with a wave as Maera pulled out of my house with a hand wrapped around my wrist. We walked a short way down the road to our village where many were already rising and performing their chores. Many of the people I had to grown to know waved and smiled, wishing me a happy and healthy day as this was the day of my birth, I waved and thanked them as Maera continued to pull me. I knew where we were going, to the meadow where we spent a great deal of our childhood, it was tradition of course, between the two of us that on the day we were born we would go to the meadow and speak of our dreams as we watched the clouds lazily moved along the blue skies. I felt such joy in this day, in our friendship and in the life that our village had built and in my naivety believed that such would stay the same. _

_The day was quiet as we spoke, both of us laying in the field, the smell of summer all around us in the winds that breezed errantly, in the trees that sprinkled their flowers all around and in the grass. _

"_Father has told me that soon I will be sent to the palace." Maera said, her voice heavy_

"_What?" I looked at her, my eyes searching her profile._

_She didn't look at me, I knew she was searching for the right words. "He says that I can be of use there and that the dressmaker is in need of a seamstress." _

"_They could have any seamstress though, why does it have to be you?" _

"_There is much I haven't told you, but Andra is leaving in a few weeks time, says that he wishes to learn to fight, wants to train as a warrior. Father has already granted him ownership of our horse and has commissioned your father to make a sword for him. He wants me to go to the palace to learn the trade more thoroughly and to make some money in Andra's absence." _

"_So you're leaving." I said with a dread in the words finality. _

"_I am afraid so." _

"_Then I will go with you." I replied to her after a pause._

"_But what of your dreams?" _

"_I am not giving up, just pushing them off for a little while." _

"_No, Lilith…" She turned to look at me, her eyes wide. _

"_I will not leave you to a palace full of strangers with no one to confide in." _

_She smiled at me, her eyes glittering with friendship. "Let's make a pact then." _

"_A pact?" I replied. _

"_Yes, sit up." _

_I sit up, spreading the skirts of my dress around my legs and faced her, watching her do the same, she took my hands in her own, squeezing my slender fingers. "I swear to you, Lilith, to follow you wherever you shall go, and to stay by your side, sister of my heart, friend of my life. May our lives remain twined until the Valar shine on our divergent path." _

"_I swear to you, Maera, to follow you wherever you shall go, and to stay by your side, sister of my heart, friend of my life. May our lives remain twined until the Valar shine on our divergent paths." I repeated. _

"_This way when we grow older and find our way, we won't have broken our vow and if anything happens that draws us away from each other, we're still together in our hearts." _

_I laughed softly. "You certainly have a way with words." _

_We made our way back to village after making our pledge, me with every intention of going to back to my parents and telling them of my pledge to follow Maera into the palace. When we arrived though there was a tall man in front of her home dressed in the armor of Mirkwood, he was obviously speaking with Maera's father and holding a scroll in his hand. _

"_Maera." I said softly. "I think the summons came much sooner than expected." _

"_Go, now. If you wish to follow, you must be quick." _

_I ran to back to my house, slamming through the door faster than intended and fell to the ground in front of my mother who was staring at me with an open mouth. _

"_Lilith, you know better than to run in the..." she began. _

"_Mother! You must listen, Maera is going to the palace, it seems that the summons for her came faster than she expected and they are going to take me. I wish to go with her as well." _

"_Lilith, this is…." _

"_Listen to me! I must go!" _

"_You are old enough to make that decision for yourself, my dear, but be sure that this is path you wish to take." She intoned softly, kneeling beside me and stroking my hair. "If this is what you want, then this is what you must do." _

"_Oh thank you!" I wrapped my arms around her neck. "I have to go, I love you and tell father the same." _

"_I will, my dear. Go now, be with your friend and always remember where you came from." _

_I stood and nodded at her once before running back out the door and to what I believed to be my new destiny. _

The memory came unbidden for a moment, the complications of my impetuous decision not lost on me, I longed to return to my village, longed to see everyone again but in my position such things only happened once in a while. As I sit at my desk now, preparing for another night of work, I think about the repercussions, think about all of the moments that led to her and Maera's current situation and for a moment I let myself feel pity. I pulled my heavy black leather boots over my soft gray leggings and stood, in the mirror hanging from the door across from me I saw who I was now. A woman of strength in leather and cloth, the only femininity in the raven lengths that poured from her head in soft curls covered by a helmet that I only removed in privacy. I walked to the door, taking in a deep breath and opened it. Across the abandoned hall was a door that each day got harder and harder to open, within it, my friend, confidant and mistress who would now be getting ready for the night that lay before her.

I walked now across the hall, my boots making a soft thump on the wooden floor as I approached, and reached out to the doorknob. Softly I knocked first, hearing a soft spoken voice reply from within I opened the door and stepped into the room, quick to shut the heavy door behind me. I stood by the door and waited, my gloved hands clasped behind me, Maera popped her head around the corner and smiled at me.

"I really wish you wouldn't wear that helmet all the time."

"You know the rules." I replied, a smile in my voice. "Are you ready?"

"Almost."

Neither of us would dare to say the words we were thinking. I knew what she would do this night, and the guilt that built in my heart was almost too much to handle some days although I knew she would say nothing of the sort. It was an unspoken rule that we never discussed her profession, never discussed the circumstances of our arrangement and it suited us, at least it suited her. I bowed my head away from her as she pulled a pale green dress over her naked figure, although it was not unusual for elves to dress and undress in front of each other it was of personal preference not to.

"Will you help me tie my laces?" she asked me.

"Yes, Mistress."

"You don't have to call me that."

"You tell me that every night."

"And I will continue to until you stop saying it."

A soft laugh past through my lips as I strode across the room to her, she presented her back to me immediately as I removed my gloves and touched the silk laces of her dress. The feel of the fabric between my slender calloused fingers was pleasant, evoking memories of when we were young and she would invite me to see her patterns. I laced them efficiently, drawing her beautiful blonde hair over her shoulder and looked at her in the mirror of her dressing table, she was always so beautiful. She smiled sadly at me in the mirror, her eyes reflecting the grief that we both shared.

"It's almost time."

"I know." I replied.

Suddenly another memory came to mind, how this all began and I looked away from her.

_Years had passed since her and I had arrived in the palace, her the seamstress and myself as a serving girl in the kitchens, although my arrival was unexpected, I was welcomed warmly by those who worked there. Both of us had fallen into a comfortable routine, waking together as we shared a room in the servant quarters, bathing and dressing before going our separate ways for the day until supper time when we dined together in the hall. On our days off we would sneak out into the forest, laying among the sweet grasses and searching for patterns in the branches that canopied us. Today, however, on our day off Maera was called by the seamstresses to assist in the making of gowns for the Winter festival while I aimlessly wandered the service halls with a pilfered apple from the kitchens. All around me was the buzz of activity with excitement for the festival, I knew not from experience though as I almost never attended such large affairs and preferred to either stay in my room or in the kitchens helping. Maera, on the other hand was excited, she loved to dance and would often come back to our shared room late in to the night. Although the festival held no interest for me, the people that came to visit did, dignitaries from other elven kingdoms, ambassadors and nobles alike, even servants or villagers came to celebrate the solstice. I was a people watcher, interested more their cultures, listening to bits and pieces of conversations, listening to them describe their lands that seemed so different from this one. _

"_You, girl. Come here." A woman spoke, gesturing for me at the end of the hallway. _

_"I'm sorry?"_

"_Come here, I said. Are you deaf?" _

_I rushed forward towards the woman, taking from her elegant clothing that she must be a noble of some sort and curtsied as I came close to her, the woman rose one elegant eyebrow at me and looked me up and down. _

"_Are you a servant of the palace or have you come from elsewhere?" _

"_I work in the kitchens of the palace, milady." I respond. _

_"Good, come with me." She commanded._

_The woman turned on heel and strode away fully expecting that I would follow without further question, she was correct of course as it was not my place or of my demeanor to argue with someone of obvious wealth and status. I followed, my eyes trained to the floor, watching her slippered feet as she strode towards a hall I knew was where other dignitaries and ambassadors were staying while they enjoyed the festival. I always crashed into her when she suddenly stopped at one particular door and strode in, I followed her inside, a little hesitant to enter such a richly decorated room. _

_"Run me a bath, I want warm water and lavender scented soap." She commanded, stepping behind a decorative screen. _

_I opened my mouth to argue that I was not a handmaiden but thought better of it and_

_walkedto the bathing chambers where I set out the appropriate items and warmed water for a bath. I knew that the cupboard near the east window held the appropriate bathing items as most of the rooms in the section were similar and I had assisted in cleaning and preparing the rooms before the arrival of guests. When the tub was filled with steaming water and the soap and towels spread out on the counter next it I returned to the room where the woman stood and curtsied once more. _

_"Will that be all?" I asked, my voice meek. _

"_Yes. You are dismissed." _

_I left the room in a hurry, wishing to return to my rooms as soon as possible before any other people asked me for assistance. Several hours later, Maera finally returned from her work with a basket of foods she had grabbed from the kitchens and set it on my bed, exhaustion clear from her expression. _

"_I thought we might just eat in here tonight." she said quietly. _

"_Alright." I replied and spread out the meal for us. _

_Sleep came swiftly that night for both of us until the bright fingers of dawn pressed through our window, both of us awoke to the sound of a knock at the door. _

"_Who could that be?" Maera mumbled as she rose from her bed. _

"_Tell them to go away a little longer." I replied, still snug within the coverlet of my bed, _

_I heard her cross the room to the door and heard the familiar scrape of the door on the floor but perked my ears when I heard a man's voice come through clearly. _

"_Is this the room of Lilith and Maera?" he asked, his voice stern. _

_I knew that voice, remembered from when her and I had arrived at the palace, he was the king's son, Prince Legolas. I sat up in my bed and looked to her, confusion marring my countenance. Why would a prince be coming to a servant's chamber? And why this early in the morning? _

"_Yes, it is." she spoke. _

"_Which one are you?" _

"_I am Maera." She replied and was promptly pushed aside as the prince came into our room, I sat in stunned silence as she stared at me. _

"_You will come with me." his voice brooked no argument and soon I was being escorted from our room, following the prince, Maera following closely behind me while two guards brought up our flank. _

"_What is this about?" Maera asked. _

"_It is not your concern. You may return to your rooms." _

"_I wish to come with her." _

"_Fine." _

_We were escorted through the palace's service hallways and up a staircase to what I knew to be the throne room, my face paled and my hands began to tremble. What reason would a prince be bringing a servant girl before the king? I didn't dare speak as we passed through the entryway and I was brought before the king himself with the woman I had assisted last evening. She glared at me in such a way that made my trembling increase. _

"_That's the little wretch!" she accused, her finger pointing at me with such venom. _

"_Thank you. You may leave now." _

"_But I want to know what you intend to do about this travesty!" _

"_You will be informed pending an inquiry." The king replied, barely even looking at the flushed woman. "Until then, return to your rooms or wherever you wish." _

"_You cannot just throw me out!" _

"_I can't?" He replied, appearing bored with the conversation. _

_Without further questioning, the woman was escorted out of the throne room by the two guards, the prince still standing to my right until he too was dismissed with an elegant wave of those tapered fingers. I stared at the king in reverence, awed by his beauty as he sat in a wooden throne carved to appear as antlers, a crown of simple branches adorning his ash colored hair. Silver robes enveloped his body as he stood from the throne and approached us, his eyes taking in every movement we made. _

"_Lilith." He stared at me. _

"_Y-yes, my liege." I replied in a small voice. _

"_Do you know why you have been called before me?" _

"_N-no, my liege." I replied again. _

"_You have been accused of theft by the Lady Thessalia." his tone was impervious but felt like finely wrought steel to my ears. _

_I opened my mouth, a small gasp escaping. I had never stolen anything in my entire life. "She has claimed that you stole a brooch that was very valuable. What say you?" _

"_Lilith has never stolen anything in her entire life!" Maera exclaimed, a look of determination crossing her beautiful features. _

"_That is not what is in question, she was accused of theft and now must answer for the charges." He never for one moment took his eyes off me, leaving me feeling naked. _

"_I took nothing from her room, my liege. I merely assisted her in preparing a bath."_

"_You are a kitchen server, correct?" _

"_Yes, my liege." _

"_You know you are forbidden on the guest floors while they are in attendance." _

"_Yes, my liege. I could not say no to her though, she seemed quite determined after I informed her of my employment in the kitchens." _

"_I see." He replied, pacing in front of us with a finger pressed to his chin. "She first asked you about your position here?" _

"_Yes, upon my answering, she bade me to follow her." _

_He seemed to consider my answer. "She has no proof other than claiming that you were in her rooms without her permission, but neither do you have proof that your claim is true." He stopped pacing and looked to me. "I cannot with good conscious ignore the woman's claim and there is still the matter of your punishment for going to the guest floors." _

_I bowed my head to him, my fear getting the better of me. "You will be imprisoned in the dungeons below until the brooch can be located." _

"_You believe that woman over a servant who has been faithfully in your service for years?" Maera wrapped her arms around me. "I have known this girl all of my life, she has no need for brooches or gems." _

"_You would vouch for her?" _

"_Yes." _

"_Even though you risk your own freedom." _

"_I see. This does not change anything though, she must be held accountable for her actions." _

"_Then punish me in her stead. She does what is asked of her without question, with regard to others comforts." _

"_You want to go to the dungeons?" He seemed baffled by both her impudence and by her willingness to take a punishment that was not hers to take. _

"_Want and need are different, I do not want to go to the dungeons but I would do it for it is needed in this girl's defense." _

"_And if there was another option open to you?" _

"_What other option would there be?" _

_We stared at the king in confusion. He stood, facing Maera with an expression of interest on his face. "I have a position open that might be preferable to the dungeons, and it would release your friend from punishment and perhaps would even raise her status." _

"_What do you speak of?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her. _

"_Would you agree to such a position? I would compensate you, your family and her family if you accept." _

"_I want to know about the position." _

_He smiled and for a moment I was awed by his beauty that seemed to shine within the room. "Accept it first." _

_Maera looked to me, her face speaking volumes about what she would do for and I for her. "Remember our pact." she whispered to me. "I go no where without you, or you without me." _

_I nodded. "Sister of my heart." _

_Maera turned to the king. "I accept." _

Those two words had changed our fate forever, overnight our positions changed, our rooms were relocated, and new lives began. This was perhaps when we had begun to pull away from each other, her not wishing to hurt me with the details of her position, and me unable to overcome my guilt. If I had known what the position entailed, I would never have allowed her to accept a punishment for me. She looked at me now from the looking glass.

"Do not dwell on the past." She spoke softly. "I have endured no pain, but often thought the same. If I had known, would I still have made that choice?"

My heart entreated to know the answer, to know if our pact was still in place with her own heart, she smiled. "I would have. I have learned much, and have gained us both much from this arrangement. Do not fret. Soon all will be well again."

I frowned into the looking glass. "You don't need to escort me tonight, I think I will walk alone."

I shook my head. "I cannot. I go where you go."

She smiled sadly once more. "Please. Take the night off."

"You know I cannot, it is my mission to protect you and to escort you."

"Please." She asked again, I frowned from beneath my helm.

I shook my head once more. "I am very sorry then."

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

She turned around to face me, embracing me tightly before moving away from me. "This is where our paths diverge."

I looked away from her with a look of confusion and caught a flurry of movement in the mirror right before a sharp pain radiated out from the back of my head and the world went black.


	2. Chapter 2

When I awoke again I was still in Maera's room but she was no where to be found, my head ached as I lifted myself off the floor, concerned for my friend's welfare but confused as to how I had ended up on the floor with a rather large bump on my head. Looking around I found that the room was still intact although it appeared as though some of the more valuable knick-knacks that usually graced the smooth wooden shelves were now missing, leaving behind a dust mark of where they had once stood. Immediately I feared kidnapping and theft as a possible motive for my headache and for her absence but vaguely, in the shadows of my groggy mind I remembered someone else in the room. I could not for the life of me describe the person who had been there, only remembering the flash in the mirror before my untimely unconsciousness. Immediately alarm bells went off in my head, I had no idea how long I had been out and I was sure that something was wrong, I strode to the door of her room and dashed into the hallway. I found the hallway, that was normally quiet due to its unoccupied status, was filled with the sounds of guards talking, my head pounded for a moment in the din.

"You there!" I heard a voice calling to me. I ducked my head but realized too late that there was no where to go. "Did you see the woman in the red cloak?"

Red cloak? They must be talking about Maera. "No, although this is her set of rooms." I replied.

"You are her escort." A man dressed in a silver tunic and black leggings strode up to me. "Where did she go?"

"I am unaware of her whereabouts." I replied, a grimace tightening my lips. I knew this man from before, once again I am face to face with the prince, I bowed low in deference.

"I know that you follow the red cloaked woman everywhere." His voice seemed to have an edge of accusation.

"On regular occasions, yes. It appears though, that is no ordinary occasion."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Not a moment ago I rose from the floor of her dressing room with a pounding headache and confusion unlike I have felt before."

"She knocked you out?" The prince seemed incredulous. "You are a guard of Mirkwood and a simple woman knocked you out."

"No, sir." I replied, my fingers curling into fists. "I was knocked out by another I had not seen until it was too late."

"You believe she has been kidnapped then?"

I pondered that question for a moment, although the strange person knocking me out indicated that this might be a kidnapping, the way she had looked at me, and the words she had spoken previously lead me to another conclusion. One that causes the bottom of my stomach to drop out.

"I do not claim to know, sir." I know that my face is paling with the lie.

I watch his eyes narrow in suspicion. "You will assist in the search then."

I nod, watching him turn back down to the exit of the hallway, the gathering of guards around him following him at his hand wave. I follow them as well although I choose to hold myself back, I know that if I wish to find Maera before they do, I have to find a way to sneak away. At the end of the hall, the crowd splits into groups and I follow the one that doesn't have the prince at the head, knowing that it would be easier to disappear if his sharply trained eyes were not following my every move. At the juncture to the kitchens I slip unseen into a darkened hallway I know leads into a private garden, I wait until the thundering of boots fades away and slip silently down to the double doors at the end of the corridor. From my years of working in the palace I know that this is one of a few ways one may leave the palace grounds without anyone being the wiser, it was infact the one Maera and I used to slip out into the forest when we should have been working. I prayed to the Valar that she knew not the other ways and would be here, prayed that she would not be found before I could speak to her.

I waited at the doors, listening to the sounds of the garden outside, waiting for any sign of life. I closed my eyes and pushed my hearing to the limits, blocking out the sound my heartbeat so that I may hear any subtle clues. I was rewarded after a few moments as I heard the scuffle of a leather boot on the smooth stones of the winding path within the garden. Slipping out, I had to avoid lamp light that split it ethereal glow to avoid being detected by whoever was stealing into the night. I spotted two figures almost at once, both wrapped in thick cloaks to avoid the chilled air of night, they appeared to holding hands and whispering. I moved closer, staying close to the bushes that lined the path.

"Maera!" I hissed quietly.

"Lilith!" she gasped.

"Who is there?" The other figure spoke, the voice of a man coming from the shadowed depth of the hood.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh Lilith." The crimson cloaked figure moved closer to me, careful to stay out of sight of the windows. "You don't understand, I have to leave."

"Leave?" I replied.

"Kendahl and I are leaving the palace tonight." She said, her voice wavering slightly.

"Who is Kendahl?"

"That would be me, stranger." The other figure spoke.

"We are in love, Lilith and we are fleeing the palace."

"Love? When would you have had time to fall in love?"

Maera scoffed at my disbelief and clung to Kendahl, I looked to the two with confusion, when would she have had time to meet him let alone fall in love when both of us were forbidden to show our faces within the palace. "He's a guard."

"A guard?! Have you lost your senses?"

She sighed in the shadows. "I cannot discuss this further, find us in the village when you have a chance."

All three of us froze as the sound of footfalls storming into the gardens, Maera looking to me as though I had betrayed her, and although she could not see my face through the mask, I must have a similar expression at her leaving without so much as a goodbye.

"Stop! You three!"

Maera grasped her thick robe and skirts and must have intended to make a dash through

the bushes but was stopped by my own hand as I reached out and grasped her upper arm with steely resolve. She tilted her face to me but I could not look her in the eyes. She would not understand why I had stopped her, and I hoped against all hope that she might forgive this, but I could not let her run away knowing that she would be hunted in her own forests. Running from servitude to a royal family in any position was an offense close to treason, as it implied that said servitude was unjust and spoke volumes of a royal family. For all the years I had been in this position I had never even considered the possibility, the very idea of upholding law ingrained so deeply in my core that even our deep friendship could not unroot it.

"Please…" she pleaded, I could see her eyes watering in my peripherals.

I looked the guards surround us, the prince who watched the scene with suspicion, his eyes not missing any movement from any of us. "I will escort her." I said to him, my eyes catching his, he nodded once and gestured for the Kendahl to be taken away as well.

"Why are you doing this?" She whispers to me softly.

"You do not understand the full repercussions of your decision."

"Have you not felt love?" She asked of me.

I chose to ignore the question in favor of following the precession of guards, not bearing to look at the woman I held close in my heart. It was unsurprising to both of us that we were being brought to throne room, to my mind it only made sense that the king himself would pass judgement on the woman he had been intimate with. The room itself was unchanged, still presided over by a throne of antlers but the king was not seated in said throne by standing at the bottom of the dais with his signature look of disinterest. Like the room, the man remained unchanged even though years had passed since I had looked upon his countenance.

"All but the three may remain within these chambers."

I stood between the man and Maera, my helm hiding my intimidated look. Without question, the rest of the guards and the prince left, closing the door in such a way that brought the memory of our first fateful visit here that had changed both of us. He looked to Maera with disdain.

"You planned to run." This was said as a statement and not a question.

"I cannot live like this any longer." She asked meekly, so uncharacteristic of the woman I knew.

"This much is obvious." he paused to consider the man. "You are a guard within my home."

This was a surprise to me as I had never seen this man before. "I am, my liege." He knelt to the ground before the king.

"Maera, Captain. Your crimes against this house are grevious."

"Love is considered a crime?" She spoke softly.

"I care not that you consider yourselves in love, I care that you chose to run from this place with intimate knowledge of this kingdom and of my personage without first informing me of your intentions."

"I knew that you would not let me leave this place."

"You are correct, I couldn't let you leave, but I could've let you leave your service."

"There is nothing for me here but rumors and snide gossip."

He seemed to think on this for a moment. "This is akin to treason."

I held my breath, I knew what the punishment was for this crime. "Your majesty."

The king looked to me, peering through the openings in my helm where my eyes stared out back at him, he seemed to remember for a moment that I was here as well. "When I found them they were discussing returning to the palace." I lied.

Maera looked at me sharply. "Is this true, Maera?"

"Yes, it is, my liege." The man spoke again, backing up my lie.

The king's eyes never left my own, I felt gooseflesh rise all over my skin as he smirked. "Perhaps you speak truth, but you must be punished. I believe a century or two within the dungeons should be appropriate for the crime." he paused again. "Separate, of course. To see if this love the two of you share will stand the test of time."

"But that is cruel!" Maera exclaimed. I agreed, this seemed to be a far from fair punishment.

"You have betrayed my trust, my home and have shared yourself intimately with another in my employ when you were expressly forbade."

"My liege…" my voice trailed off, trapped in my throat. "...can there be any other way?"

"Who are you to question how I punish?" he asked, his lips thinning.

"I am only her personal servant, sir, been at her side for as long as she has resided here."

"So you know of her position?"

"You appointed me directly sir, as her escort, guard and handmaiden."

He raised one silvery eyebrow at me. "Remove your helmet."

I hesitated. I was not the same elf who had come before him in her youth, but it was an order from my king and I could not disobey it, removing my hand from Maera I lifted my helm from my head and shook out the raven tresses that fell.

"Ah, yes. I remember you. The meek girl who followed her everywhere."

"Yes, my liege."

"I remember when the two of you last came before me, you accused of theft and her taking the punishment for you." I cringed. "Now we have come full circle but instead it is Maera who must answer."

"As she has taken my punishment on herself, so must I offer myself to take hers."

"Interesting." He said, reaching a hand towards me to pull a lock of hair from my shoulder. "Alright, since I have given leeway once before, so must I again. Maera and Kendahl, you may leave the palace with the knowledge that should you ever divulge any of what you have learned here, you will be hunted down and you will face punishment. With this, I also decree that both of you are banished from my lands, never to set foot here again."

"Your majesty!" Kendahl rose from his kneeling position at last, shouting.

"Be silent!" the king replied. "Both of you are stripped of all of your titles, but I will be kind and allow you to take your possessions with you."

"Thank you." Maera whispered, looking at me.

"You are both dismissed."

I stood my ground, wishing that I could have remained unconscious as the lovers past me and left the throne room, my heart broke knowing that I would never see my dear friend again but our pact was fulfilled and her path now lit. My hands trembled as I clasped them loosely behind my back, facing the king with a blank expression.

"Remove your armor." He ordered me.

In my mind I knew he intended to strip me of my guard status, that as a prisoner within the dungeons I was in no need of such armor. Placing my helm upon the ground I began to pull on the buckles and straps that held my leather jerkin in place and placed that on the ground as well, next I removed my belt, pulling the knives I had strapped there and placing them beside it. Once I was divested of all of my weapons and was now clothed only in my leather boots, pants and a green shirt that had been tailored to my body as well as to be worn under my armor. I looked to him, watched him cross to the throne and sit upon it, resting his head on his hand as he watched me.

"Continue." He said simply.

I stood floundering in my confusion, did he wish for me to remove all of my clothing? "My liege…"

"I said remove your armor, all of it."

The question now answered, I frowned by knelt to the ground pulling on the lacings of my boots and pulling them from my stockinged feet which soon after were removed as well. I struggled with myself for a moment as I reached for the lacings of my pants, a heat was rising with my chest and in my face. I felt embarrassed for my current predicament, that much was obvious, but there was also an unknown emotion rising within my body that I could not begin to understand. I stipped the pants methodically, pulling them down muscled thighs and calves with the expertise of one who did this regularly. A felt a chill on my now bare legs and wondering what the king's expressive eyes saw, but I banished this thought and finally removed the thin shirt to reveal what was underneath. I was considered rather shy, not bathing with other elven women, not undressing before anyone other than my own mother, and this is perhaps why I always wore bindings around my full chest and a piece of makeshift underclothing to cover the vital parts of my womanhood.

"You have grown since the last time I have seen you." He said as his eyes wandered along my straightened form. "I remember the slip of a girl you were, barely out of your majority."

"Yes, your majesty."

"With a Maera's position now vacated, I propose a new idea. Instead of imprisonment as I suggested, perhaps you would prefer her position instead."

A blush stained my cheeks, I knew what position he was offering me and for a moment I almost denied it out of hand, but I had seen the dungeons of this palace, albeit accidentally, but still the memory brought a shiver to my body. I did not know for sure if I could stand a century trapped in stone without a window with which to see my beloved forest hearing the moans of the abandoned. The alternative was one I had never considered for myself, seeing the misery that it had put my friend through, but it was one that I was now moving through my mind.

"Well, what say you."

"I-I accept." I said demurely.

"Good. I'll escort you to your new quarters myself." He rose from the throne and walked towards me with a smile on his beautiful face.

I turned to follow him as he glided past me but was stopped short when he paused and turned back to me, tilting his head. "Seal the deal…" he voice was breathy for a moment. "...with a kiss."

I had but a moment to prepare before the king's lips slanted across my own with a passion I had not known possible, their softness akin to pillows but the feeling was disorienting. It was over before I knew and soon I was following him down a new path.


End file.
